Future plans and skirt revision

Thank you all so much for the lovely and kind comments on my last post, all very much appreciated and gratefully received.  It is indeed extremely exciting, not least because i've spent the last 40 years wondering just what it is that I would like to do ... and now I know!  Hurray!  I wish it hadn't taken quite so long, but I do beleive in fate and the fact that everything has it's time and place, and even pace .. I am feeling very positive and I'm also looking forward to more blogging time!

I'm continuing with my skirt making 'series' which never got past the pencil stage last year!  Never fear that I have forgotton though, because I have now drawn the diagrams for my high waisted pencil skirt, with belt attachment and with lining based on a technique I found in Threads magazine.  If you want to make your own skirts, here are my first three tutorials on how to get to the pencil skirt stage:

Skirt block - part 1, measuring and drawing the block

Skirt block - part 2, shaping the block with darts

Skirt block - part 3, making a plain pencil skirt from the block

I hope to post the next tutorial this week sometime so watch this space!

A historical moment

I have resigned from the day job .. HURRAH!!!!

I have decided to focus 100% on Sew Curvy

I have new supplies for the shop and big expansion plans!

and ...

I am going to start making corsets for a living.

I am going to become a full time corsetiere!

Isn't it exciting?!

I have spent years consternating over suitable names for such a business, and suddenly, the other day I settled on one I'd never thought of before and quickly bought up the  domains.

I have so many ideas my head is BURSTING!

I am learning Dreamweaver in the final weeks of the day job and so should be able to build and manage my own websites which in itself is an exciting design project.

seeds have been planted

On the home front, the greenhouse and all the pots have been cleaned and de-cobwebbed, the compost is ready, the seeds have been bought (from The Real Seed Catalogue), the windowsills are laden with pots, and my chickens are laying again!

Everything is so exciting!!

Laughing Moon Dore corset

This is what i'm working on at the moment.  Not a corset but a set of techniques.

If I told you the techniques i'm working on now, i'd have to kill you.

I'm particularly pleased with the way the front panels line up quite perfectly

And i'm extra pleased at the way the lining - a soft cotton sateen - has turned out.  This is a three layer corset, made from 2 layers of coutil and a floating lining.

As you know, I'm writing a beginners guide to corsetry for Rainbow Disks.  It will be published in the autumn, in time for Christmas and I want it to be THE corset book to get.

Tell me ... If you were making a corset for the first time ever, what do you think you would like to know?

Pencil Skirts

I've been making pencil skirts with different features.  Both are high waisted because I find these comfortable - and they happen to be fashionable now.  Both are winter skirts - heavyweight and lined, both are boot and shoe friendly.

This one is made from greenish cord with 6 panels, pockets and a top bodice section.

This one is made from a wool mix fabric with an attached belt which makes the figure look super curvy.  The buckle came from a charity shop belt which I bought for 50p.  

Charity shops - fabulous source for notions which are expensive new.

This skirt used a new lining technique which can be found in issue 150 of Threads if you have it.

I'll be demonstrating in the near future,  how to make both of these skirt patterns expanding on 

THIS TUTORIAL